If you’re spending the pandemic the way I am, then you probably don’t know what time of day it is, what day it even is, which meal it is that you may or may not have last had, but what you do know is clearly this is what it feels like when you’re no longer waiting for the other shoe to drop. You’re wondering where these trillions of dollars are coming from, and how you can apply for your piece of a trillion. I imagine our portions are on par with Spotify payouts. You’re laying low, and maybe most of the time—honestly— you’re kind of enjoying a little time to yourself. With such deprivation in the age of zoom, the social obligations are piling up, virtual as they are, and it’s hard to keep the liquor cabinet stocked, let alone find the time to even squeeze in a movie.
Maybe you’re feeling good about yourself because you realize you don’t need to shop for stuff online or in the real world nearly as much as you had been. It’s actually cool to live lean. And all of a sudden we’re all hanging out with some of our favorite people over some platform or another, regardless of time zone and we’re wondering why we weren’t doing this all along. But will we learn from any of this experience? It’s a question.
I spent the last 48 hours tinkering with this song, Welcome To The World Now. It’s for all of us. A little 3-minute reprieve. Stay safe and well and I hope to see you soon, and I really can’t wait to play shows with my awesome bandmates and to hug and high-five everybody.
Please consider buying this song. It’s definitely for the moment. A year from now, I hope it will simply be an artifact. And while you’re here on BandCamp, consider picking up the whole catalog. It’s ridiculously discounted. Truth be told, Daria Grace, Aaron Latos and I finished recording a whole new album a minute before this whole smack-down situation. Any funds that come in, will help us get the record out into the world, and when the curtain is lifted, get us out in front of you again where we belong. I can’t wait. Stephen Clair
lyrics
Everybody’s lining up to get on the dole
Without leaving the house or going to school
They pulled another trillion outta thin air
While I barely have the gumption to cut my own hair
Welcome to the world now
It’s something new pal
We’re no longer waiting for
the other shoe
It came off easy
It nearly hit me
So I just ran inside, hoping to stay alive, and I went online, to tell the whole grapevine
Welcome to the world now
Nobody’s saying what they really think
But they’re blowing up the internet meeting for drinks
You can see where this is heading it’s like we’ve all gone to heaven
Happy hour with your best friends, twenty-four seven
Welcome to the world now
It’s something new pal
We’re no longer waiting for
the other shoe
It came off easy
It nearly hit me
So I just ran inside, like a bee to a hive, called the mayor’s hotline, he was out for a drive
Welcome to the world now
There’s people on the front line risking their lives
While the government goes on polishing their knives
Most of us are stuck home but we’ve got TV
And who knew wine delivery is free
Welcome to the world now
It’s something new pal
We’re no longer waiting for
the other shoe
It came off easy
It nearly hit me
So I just ran inside, hoping to stay alive, I’d even settle for a blush wine
Welcome to the world now
How will anybody fall in love over zoom
I think it already happened a zoom bride and groom
a little disembodied but I love you for your mind
Honey could you stand where I can see you in the light
Welcome to the world now
It’s something new pal
We’re no longer waiting for
the other shoe
It came off easy
It nearly hit me
So I ran inside, set my mind, to dreaming up a new headline
Welcome to the world now
credits
released April 11, 2020
Stephen Clair/Born To Demo 2020 ASCAP
“Blending the kind of jaggedly cool guitar and piano that put Spoon on the map with a deadpan, almost spoken-word vocal
delivery, the song quickly evolves into a righteous bar band anthem that feels as much linked to acts like the Hold Steady as it does to Wilco”
— Glide Magazine...more
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